A known type of optical fiber management component is connectable to a trunk cable and includes a plurality of adapters having female receptacles. Multiple optical fibers from the trunk cable are fanned out inside the component and individually connected to the adapters. Male connectors can be plugged into the female receptacles to form a connection between a fiber optic cable attached to the male connector and one of the fibers of the trunk cable.
A modular fiber optic management component that may be mounted on a panel in a rack is sold under the trade name InstaPATCH by the assignee of the present application. This component is essentially a metal or plastic case in which a fan-out assembly is mounted. The fan-out assembly is a fixture constructed to hold a fan-out cable in a desired configuration with one connectorized end in a position to connect to a trunk cable and with connectors terminated on the side with the individual optical fibers ready to be connected to adapters. The fixture keeps the fibers organized and substantially prevents them from exceeding their minimum bend radius. The fixture also includes an opening for receiving an adapter which connects the end of the trunk cable to the end of the fan-out cable in the management component.
FIG. 5 illustrates a conventional fan-out cable 500 having a connector 502 for connecting the fan-out cable 500 to another fiber optic cable, such as a trunk cable (not shown). The connector 502 includes a housing 504 having an inner housing portion 506 and an outer housing portion 508, which inner housing portion 506 supports a ferrule 510. The ferrule 510 includes narrow body portion 514 and a wide body portion 516 meeting the narrow body portion at a shoulder 518 which shoulder 518 abuts an inner wall of housing 504 leaving an end portion 520 of the ferrule 510 and two alignment pins 522 exposed outside the housing 504.
Fan-out cable 500 comprises a plurality of individual optical fibers 524 that form a bundle 526 which connects to ferrule 510. The ferrule 510 holds the optical fibers with their end faces exposed on one end of the ferrule to facilitate a connection with the optical fibers of a similar ferrule positioned against ferrule 510. A spring 527 surrounds the bundle 526, and a spring push 528 having a body portion 530 and first and second flexible arms 532 having barbed ends 534 is connected to the bundle 526. The barbed ends 534 of the flexible arms 532 engage openings 536 in the housing 504 to secure the fan-out cable 500 to the housing 504. When connected in this manner, spring 527 is compressed between the body portion 530 of spring push 528 and an end of ferrule 510 and biases the ferrule 510 against the housing 504.
To connect ferrule 510 to a second ferrule in a second connector (not illustrated), the connectors are placed into openings on opposite ends of an adapter which holds the ends of the two ferrules (and the exposed optical fibers on the ferrules) against one another. Ferrule 510 is slidably mounted in inner housing portion 506, and can be slid into housing 504 to accommodate slight axial mismatches when two connectors are placed into an adapter. This compresses spring 527 and flexes bundle 526, but does not interfere with the use of the optical fibers. Outer housing portion 508 includes first and second flexible members 538 which can be pressed into outer housing portion 508 against barbed ends 534 of spring push 528 to push the barbed ends 534 out of openings 536 and thereby release spring push 528 from the housing 504.
The connector at the end of a fan-out cable contributes significantly to the cost of the fan-out cable, and the cost of the connector body of the connector is a significant portion of the cost of the connector. It would therefore be desirable to reduce the cost of fan-out cables and connectors therefore while still providing for efficient connections between optical cables, such as fan-out cables and trunk cables, at a fiber management device.